Phasmopobhic fellow!

Everyone has fear for one thing or the other. And there are many out there who have this fear. Fear of Ghosts! The fear of ghosts is called Phasmophobia! Almost all of us would have had that fear in our childhood and some may have come out of it and some may have not. Some may oscillate between these two categories. 

At bright day times (and a very few nights), these type of persons talk courageous things, they contradict the existence of ghosts and they also tell stuffs like "There can be no evil spirits near our home which is an abode of Gods!". At nights, they are afraid even to go to a dark room alone in the same house telling stuffs like "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. So if God exists, there exist evil spirits."

There is another category of people. They die of fear inside (irrespective of the time of the day) but never show them outside. I feel proud to tell you that I belong to this group of people. If you people are curious to know whether you belong here, answer the following questions! Let us consider that there are more than two people who sleep in a bedroom and you are one of them. 

Do you feel awkward going to the rest room around midnight which is located away from your bedroom?

Do you put on all the lights on the way to restroom at nights?

As soon as you switch off the last light before entering the bedroom, do you run to your bed instead of walking?

Do you sometimes wake someone purposely but act like you didn't do it when you wanna walk alone around the night?

Do you ever look in the mirror at nights out of fear that a ghost might be laughing at you from a corner or just behind your back?

Do you pull your bed sheet right from head to toe out of fear?

Do you have trouble sleeping after seeing a scary movie?

Do you ever feel a bit frightened seeing an old, dilapidated house?

Do you ever run fast on an empty or dark street? 

If your answer is 'yes' for any one of the above, then you have the same fear which I have! Welcome aboard! I thought I could share an experience with you, a hilarious one!

It was a Sunday night. I have CAT class at Adayar from 9 A.M. to 1 P.M. On that day I went to my uncle's home after the class and was returning late. I had parked my vehicle in the front of MIT and to reach my vehicle, I got to walk around 3/5th of a kilometer. It was a vacation and the campus had an eerie silence. I got down at Chromepet and walked towards MIT. The watchmen as usual started his lengthy inquiry. I always wondered if he were a retired policeman and spent his life inquiring innocent people all his life. I had an awful time explaining him that I was the student of CEG which is a.k.a Anna University main campus.

"Show me your ID!" I took it from my pocket and showed him. He plucked it from my hand and examined it.

"Why did you go out?"

"I had CAT.. MBA class!"

"Why are you here during the vacation?"

"I am a student of CEG, Anna University main campus."

"Then what is this campus?"

"This is Anna University annex."

"Oh! So why are you here?"

"I am residing near the college and I have parked my vehicle here!"

"Oh! Is your name Harikrishna?"

"Isn't that there in the card?"

"Yeah!" He grinned.

I started walking towards the other gate. I was in my vacation and so I have watched many films. And I watched two ghost films the previous day. One was Pizza and other was Talaash. I didn't feel fear or clumsiness while or after watching it but this lonely MIT road rekindled my fear. I kind of started remembering the ghost scenes. And the most irritating things in MIT at night are these street dogs and I do really hate them at nights. There are two roads in MIT from one gate to other. One is so lonely and dark where there is a huge possibility of a ghost landing right before me and slapping hard and the other is well-lit and is full of dogs. I gotta take decision and it was real hard. I was forced to take a decision between the devil and the deep blue sea. I thought, "Naaya? Peyaa?" (Ghosts? or dogs?). I didn't wish to imagine the dogs chasing me in pairs and so I took a bold, gruesome decision. "Pei" (Ghosts)!

MIT road

 Image: Harikrishna Raghuraman

I took the dark, ghostly road. I chose the devil literally! The road was well-lit initially and illumination decreased exponentially with the distance. Fear took its root in me as I just put my foot on the first shades of darkness. Nothing but pitch dark and eerie silence accompanied me and rarely a shrill sound. I used my cell phone light as a torch and moved forward with deathly fear in my heart. Suddenly, I heard a dog howling at its full strength and for a moment it seemed like a soul crying in distress somewhere near me. I turned back to see the condition. Very far away, I saw a yellow light and 2 figures chatting. They must be watchmen. If not? My fear blazed within me.

I have heard a story. And let me tell its conclusion straight away. Never turn back when you are walking alone in a pitch black area for there might be a burnt, scarred devil coming towards you. And don't ever think to turn if you hear someone calling your name. The ghosts do that kind of stuff. They call you by your name in the dark places, you turn back and they will kill you! These things along with the faces of the ghosts from the movies went on and on in my mind. The dog's howl was replaced by crickets' chirping.

I was walking past a partially built building when I noticed something moving beside me. I was startled and was almost dead for a second. But later found that it was a mongoose which run and hid among the bushes seeing me. It seemed that the mongoose was afraid of me. Wasn't I afraid too? Each of the two was afraid of the other. A complicated situation. I walked past the tents of the workers and I became bold for a few minutes and again fear encircled me as the darkness started. Then I heard something. 

The building

Image: Harikrishna Raghuraman

"Harikrishna!" 

I was startled. I wasn't sure what I heard! One thought was that it was my imagination and other was that it might be a ghost. Oh My God! Then I heard it again.

"Harikrishna!" 

It went on for many times each separated by a few seconds.

"Harikrishna!" 

Though I was sure that I must not turn back, my curiosity took the better of me. At a distance, I saw a figure coming towards me. It was almost running and then I looked at my feet almost immediately and realized that I too was running. That figure ran towards me shouting my name and I turned around a corner. I looked back again and was happy to notice that the figure wasn't there. And again I saw it. I ran, ran, ran and ran and reached the other gate where I had parked my vehicle. And I noticed that there was only a single light near the entrance. The shops on the adjacent street were closed as it was a Sunday. I noticed a watchman hearing radio and I thought it was wise to run to him rather than to the vehicle. I have heard that ghosts will chase regardless of your speed when you are alone. So I went near the watchman. 

The yelling continued.

"Harikrishna!" 

"Ghost!" I yelled. The watchman in front of me laughed.

"Sir, he isn't a ghost!"

"Please help me out of here! Save me!"

"Sir, it’s the watchman!"

"How the hell did he know my name then?" I looked puzzled.

By then, that figure reached me. He was the same watchman who inquired me a few minutes back.

"Sir! You didn't take back your ID card sir! And I saw your name in it and came running behind you shouting your name! You made me run the whole campus!" 

"You made my heart run leap out of my body!"

"Excuse me sir? I don't understand you!"

"Aaahhh! Nothing!"

I sighed and felt a huge relief. After all, ghosts don't exist. Do they? I became courageous again seeing the people around me.